How to cut wedding costs and still have the wedding of your dreams.
Want a big wedding but have a small budget? Here are some clever ways to cut wedding costs but still have a wedding that will be the envy of all your friends.
The best weddings are not always the ones that cost the most - in fact some of the most memorable weddings are often stylish, intimate affairs that take place in a garden setting at home. You can have a beautiful wedding without getting into debt for years afterwards if you just use a bit of creativity and good cost-cutting ideas when planning your wedding.
Some creative guidelines for cutting wedding costs:
Plan well in advance. If you leave things to the last minute, you may have to take whatever is available, and therefore have less choice and control over cost. (Remember that for summer, wedding venues are often fully booked a year in advance in South Africa.)
Enlist the help of friends and family. If you have a talented photographer or wonderful baker in the family, use them! You can save thousands on photographer's fees and a wedding cake made with love and pride will form a special part of your wedding memories.
Keep the invitations simple. Although wedding invitations set the tone for the event, you don't have to use ornate embossed paper. There are many varieties of beautiful paper available in stationery shops, and you don't have to spend a fortune to be stylish. What's more, making your own invitations is fun and creative and a great way to cut wedding costs.
Save money on the dress. Take your dressmaker along to bridal shops and try on beautiful wedding gowns. Choose a style that suits you and get her to copy it! Or rent a dress: have a wedding dress made by a designer and then return it after the big day. That way, you'll only pay hiring fees for a dress designed especially for you!
Limit the number of guests. When cutting wedding costs, remember that bigger is not always better. You don't have to include partners for single friends or invite parents' business colleagues anymore. Bear in mind that the reception usually accounts for half of the budget, so inviting 150 guests instead of 200 (at R150 a head), will save you R7500!
Celebrate with a wedding lunch. An evening wedding, although the most popular choice, is also the most expensive. These can go on all night and you'll often have to feed and water your guests for eight or nine hours! A brunch or lunch costs less as you won't have to have a three-course meal and your guests will drink less. You'll also save on lighting - like fairy lights or candles.
Get married in "low season". Most weddings take place in the summer months. This is when you'll pay "peak season" costs for both your venue and honeymoon. You can cut wedding costs by getting married in winter, and with clever use of rich winter colours and romantic fire-side venues, you can have a really memorable wedding.
Eat a non-traditional wedding cake. Chocolate or carrot cakes, for example, have become popular recently and cost less than the traditional three-tiered fruit cake. Another good way to cut wedding costs is to serve the cake as dessert. This works really well, (especially if the cake is a modern torte for example), as guests will be full after their lunch or dinner, and wedding cake often duplicates dessert if you're serving both.
Supply the alcohol yourself. If you are hiring an unlicensed venue or having a wedding at home, you can cut your wedding costs considerably by providing the alcohol yourself. It is also perfectly acceptable to provide only sparkling wine at the reception, and have a cash bar for the rest.
Be flower-smart. Stick to flowers that are in season and locally available and remember that flowers cost a lot more at Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. If you are marrying in a church, and there are any other weddings taking place on the same day, you may be able to share the costs. And when nobody's watching, flowers used in the church can be taken to the reception afterwards.
There are countless ways cut wedding costs in ways that nobody will even notice, and still have an elegant and lovely wedding that everyone attending will remember forever.
Click here for a book full of money-saving wedding tips.
Select an Article